The peak of open world games for me, Red Dead Redemption II is the perfect example of how to use the size and length of your game to your advantage, with this game telling one of the best and most emotional stories that I've ever seen in a video game.
A massive part of this comes down to the characters. Arthur Morgan is an incredibly well written character in his own right and feels like the perfect main character for a story like, with the high Honor path specifically having the best version of his character arc. All of the other characters are just as good, with their evolution throughout the game feeling natural and showing why this game's length is used well, with the developers making the player feel like they are right there with the gang every step of the way during their final year together in 1899.
This further helped out by the game's presentation, both in terms of how beautiful the game looks and how the player interacts with the world. Every menu in the shops is shown as a magazine or other in universe item that you're using, you can go and watch stage magicians and dancers hold shows in the main city, and the main way to fast travel other than riding your horse somewhere is by buying a ticket and taking the train. The level of immersion on display here is staggering. Even the soundtrack stands out as amazing, with the music being used effectively to uplift most of the story's best moments.
It's crazy when you compare this and the first game to other open world games, since it shows how having a strong narrative and characters and tying that into the core of the experience can make a game in genre that's pretty oversaturated at this point standout. Rockstar was already the masters of this before I beat RDR 2, but to me this will always be their best game. I don't know how GTA VI or any other open world game that's trying to tell its story in a traditional way could top this.
A massive part of this comes down to the characters. Arthur Morgan is an incredibly well written character in his own right and feels like the perfect main character for a story like, with the high Honor path specifically having the best version of his character arc. All of the other characters are just as good, with their evolution throughout the game feeling natural and showing why this game's length is used well, with the developers making the player feel like they are right there with the gang every step of the way during their final year together in 1899.
This further helped out by the game's presentation, both in terms of how beautiful the game looks and how the player interacts with the world. Every menu in the shops is shown as a magazine or other in universe item that you're using, you can go and watch stage magicians and dancers hold shows in the main city, and the main way to fast travel other than riding your horse somewhere is by buying a ticket and taking the train. The level of immersion on display here is staggering. Even the soundtrack stands out as amazing, with the music being used effectively to uplift most of the story's best moments.
It's crazy when you compare this and the first game to other open world games, since it shows how having a strong narrative and characters and tying that into the core of the experience can make a game in genre that's pretty oversaturated at this point standout. Rockstar was already the masters of this before I beat RDR 2, but to me this will always be their best game. I don't know how GTA VI or any other open world game that's trying to tell its story in a traditional way could top this.